Aftermath
by xoxolaxbabexoxo
Summary: The Akatsuki are back with heirs and they seem to be more powerful than ever. Sakura's daughter, Pein's adopted son, Orochimaru's son, and even more people who's pasts are mysteries. What is the Akatsuki now?
1. Chapter 1

Hiroshi stood in battle stance, waiting for the slightest sound or movement to strike. He looked around, sensing a presence.

"Why so jumpy?" a breathy voice whispered in his ear. He turned around quickly, seeing an eerily beautiful girl standing before him. She walked up to him, running her hand along his face.

In an instant, she was behind him, scythe on his neck. Her arms were locked around his torso, with some unimaginable strength.

"Very good Shika, I'm impressed," Hiroshi turned around to see Kazumi standing there.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, wincing when Shika pressed the scythe farther into his neck, drawing blood.

"You don't sound too happy now do you?" Kazumi replied chuckling, "Don't you want to know about the newest Akatsuki girl?"

It took everything in his strength to keep from gasping. The Akatsuki were supposed to be wiped out, no one had seen the infamous black and red cloak in years. Was it true that they had been there the whole time?

"Yep, we're still here," the leader said, grinning, "Did you really believe we'd be gone so easily? Please, there are heirs you know. Take Shika for example. She's not your average kunoichi. You've heard of Hidan, yes? She's his daughter."

Hiroshi couldn't believe it. Hidan? Why would he have a daughter? And with who?

"Shika is a lot like him," Kazumi went on, "She too is a Jashin--worshipper and has the same, shall we say, bloodlust as him. She finds great pleasure in the pain of causing harm to both herself and others. She also seemed to develop his foul mouth," she said, giving said Kunoichi a look, "But, unlike Hidan, she is not immortal. Her mother was Sakura Haruno. You've heard of her as well I assume? She gave birth to Shika a few months after Hidan's death and was able to successfully keep it a secret. Sakura taught her daughter well. She not only hold the power to heal as both her mother and the Hokage did, but she also has the same inhuman strength."

This was clearly news to Hiroshi. Such a small girl, able to hold such powers. No wonder Kazumi has her.

"She wields a scythe, just like her father, but is able to focus her chakra into her hands, giving a fatal blow to any opponent. Because she's also a medic-nin, she can practice Jashin just as Hidan did. But besides holding their powers, she also holds her own. Shika is a lethal fighting machine. Any opponent up against her should be saying their prayers now," Kazumi concluded, grinning.

"You ready for this, pretty boy?" Shika said, licking her scythe, "Let's go."

Two hours later Hiroshi stood with his hands on his knees. This girl's strength was unreal. It didn't even look like she had broken a sweat. But he noticed that the majority of her moves were a lot like both Hidan's and Sakura's. He was able to defend himself and even counter some of them. But the constant fighting was definitely damaging him and his chakra. If he didn't end it soon he would be done for.

"I must say, you're a bit more of a challenge than most of my opponents," he heard her say, "But with this last move you'll be finished."

Then her hands were moving, making hand seals to quick to recognize. A few words were spoken under her breath and then, something hit him. Flying against a tree Hiroshi looked up to see where she was, but she didn't to appear to have moved. With the flick of her fingers, he was brought forward up to her nose. She grinned and leaned forward, her black eyes flashing.

"I kind of like you, so I'll try to make this quick," she said, her lips grazing his ear.

In one swift motion she let him go and he was spun around. He grabbed a kunai, raising it, about to strike. But then she raised her arm and flung her hand out. Hiroshi was thrown against a tree, his head cracking.

'No, not now' he thought 'stay conscious.'

Shika moved towards him menacingly, a needle suddenly in her hand. She pressed it into his arm quickly, and licked her lips.

"Night, night," he heard her whisper. And then, it all went black.

'Am I dead?' Hiroshi wondered, his head throbbing, 'where the hell am I?'

Something was placed over his forehead, a cool cloth he realized. He tried to push himself up, but his arms felt too weak. After waiting a few moments he tried again, getting up only a couple inches before something pushed him back down.

He wearily opened his eyes and saw a gray ceiling above him. Turning his head slightly he saw someone sitting by the bed, writing in a notebook. Shika.

"W-what am I doing here?" he asked, his voice barely audible. She looked up at him, her eyes surprisingly cold.

"Kazumi's orders," she stated simply, looking down to her writing again.

"What? Why?" he asked, not understanding. He heard her sigh as she set her book down on the table beside the bed.

"Are you really that dense? Kazumi wants you here, you big dumb bastard," she scowled before continuing, "I wasn't supposed to kill you. Just knock you out so we could bring you here and then I could heal you. Leader thinks that you would be a wonderful addition to the Akatsuki."

"And if I don't accept?" Hiroshi replied, now able to sit up.

"Oh, you're going to accept," she said, smirking, "You have no choice. I can kill you in an instant, just like everyone else here. And besides, what do you have to go home to? You have no family, and no love. You really should be thanking us."

The ninja was taken aback by her rudeness. How the hell did she even know that? It was personal to him and she had no right whatsoever to bring it up.

"Of course, there are downsides to being here," Shika went on, "I have to train you, which is going to be a total drag. You might think that you're all strong and shit, but really, we can break you before you even know that it would happen. Now, get up, time to train."

"What?" he shouted, "It's been a day since that fight and you already want to get training? Are you crazy?"

"Actually, it's been a week. You've been out for-fucking-ever and it's about time you get moving." With that she walked out, obviously expecting him to follow.

Hiroshi walked into the Akatsuki Base Camp, his clothes torn and dirty. He had been in the organization for 2 weeks now and he still wasn't used to the days where he trained with Shika. To say they were brutal would be one hell of an understatement.

Lucky for him, they were only a few times a week. And he rarely saw her, so of course that was a plus. Her constant mood swings and intense attitude were really getting on his nerves. When she wasn't helping him train, she was out. He wouldn't see her for a whole day. 'Errands,' that what she had said. Errands twice a week for 2 weeks, and all day? He would need to look into that.

But until then he sat at the kitchen table, eating a rice ball with a glass of water. Just then, two of the other members, Katsu and Sora, walked in. Hiroshi had gotten to know them quite well and he automatically liked them more than Shika.

Sora had never known her parents, so her history was a mystery. All she knew was that she and her sister, Kiyoko, had been found by Kazumi when they were 13 years old. Or, that was all she had told anyone. Kiyoko was probably the exact opposite of Sora. She was moody and depressed, known for lashing out at people. She was also Shika's best friend.

Katsu had come from a far away village, but had been excepted into Akatsuki because he was Konan and Pein's adopted son. He, like Pein, had pierced his face in multiple places and had found quite an interest in oragami much like Konan. He just didn't think that pieces of paper would be a "formidable" fighting tool.

Kazumi was a whole different story from all the rest of them. Not only was she extremely skilled in combat, but she was also the leader of the Village Hidden in the Rain, Amegakure. Shika was right at her side always, obviously her most valuable weapon. Hiroshi had never seen Kazumi in an intense fight, but he was sure she was a forced to be reckoned with.

Nonetheless, he found the Akatsuki to, not necessarily make him happy, but certainly able to tolerate it and even be content at times. He had not yet been informed of the reason for the organization to be around still, but an important dinner meeting was tomorrow and he's be damned if he would miss it.

The shinobi turned his attention to Sora and Katsu, who were now seated and engrossed in some sort of conversation.

"So Kiyoko won't say anything about it?" Katsu seemed to be pressing the question on Sora, who was noticeably uncomfortable with the situation.

"Nope," she shook her head, "They're best fiends Katsu. She wouldn't want to betray Shika and her trust."

"What about Shika?" Hiroshi asked, wondering why the hell he wanted to know about her.

"We've been trying to figure out where she goes when she's not training for months now. She never tells any of us. Only Kiyoko and Kazumi know where she goes for sure," Katsu explained.

"Well... Good luck with that," he replied, "I'm going out to pick up some groceries since we're seriously running low on edible things here."

The pair laughed at him and waved him off. As Hiroshi made his way into town, Katsu's words were still in his head. Months? What would she be doing that she couldn't tell anyone anyway? He shook his head, willing the thoughts to go away as he stopped at the first produce cart.

He had returned home only an hour later, only to be sent back out. Kazumi sent him on a mission to scan over the city that night to find possible shinobi for the Aktasuki, since they were still a fairly small group. He was told to try and find only the strongest possible, it would be a wasted effort to have a weak person in the organization. He wasn't supposed to actually fight them, only recognize who they were and get some names, maybe even make some small talk.

So far Hiroshi had found one perosn, a burly man named Tsuyoshi who was apparently only visiting for a small vacation. He'd had the same wavy hair as Katsu, but the similarities ended there. His hair was jet black and his eyes were the oddest shade of blue, possessing a gem-like quality.. He had three scars on the bridge of his nose and hadn't been willing to share any information on those. Tsuyoshi had told him that he had a sister, but she wasn't there and he was told to look in the building with flashing lights and a large line.

He walked up to the building and was able to slip in unnoticed by the bouncer. Assuming that it was a club of some sort, he smoothed his shoulder length hair and explored the inside of the building, looking for Tsuyoshi's sister. It smelled like booze and sweat in the place and he was being bumped into by all sorts of people.

He made his way to the back and saw a stage with three metal poles. He was in a strip club. Why Tsuyoshi's sister would be here, he had no idea. Hiroshi willed himself to stay focused as he scanned his eyes over the large crowd. From what he could tell the show hadn't started yet and he wasn't sure he wanted to be around when it did. A fishnet-clad leg made it's way out of the curtain, signaling the start. So much for getting out.

Three barely dressed women came out, automatically taking their places on the pole. As the blaring music came to a fast beat the women started dancing and twirling. He turned his gaze away from them and towards the other person who had made her way to the main platform. Her black hair and crystal blue eyes were unmistakable. Tsuyoshi's sister. As she began her strip-tease he made his way to the front of the crowd, pulling out his wallet.

She crawled towards him and sat on his lap, running her long nails along his cheek.

"I need to see you, privately," he whispered in her ear, hoping he sounded like every other man that was there, "It's about Tsuyoshi." She nodded and took his hand to the back, ignoring the other man who waved to her.

He found himself in the back where the ladies got ready, the make up and hair products a dead giveaway.

"What does my brother have anything to do with why you're here?" she asked, her diamond eyes burning into his.

"I was told to look for strong shinobi by Leader's orders," he replied, betraying his mission entirely. He figured the best way to talk to the girl was to be straightforward.

"The Akatsuki?" she guessed, cocking a perfect eyebrow.

"You've heard of us?"

"Everyone has. You're no secret here. If you're asking Tsuyoshi and I to join you had better believe that we've been waiting for a moment like this. I will inform him of the news," she told him.

"I will tell Leader, although no decision will be final until you two are assessed," he said, giving her a slight nod.

"Understood. My name is Akira by the way. Be here tomorrow to tell us anything else you find out. Until then, I must leave. I've been gone far too long as it is."

He nodded and watched her leave, glad that his mission was successful. Turning to leave, a flash of purple caught his eye.

Cool metal was pressed on his neck before he could even protest. He knew that chakra, unbelievably powerful and no doubt Shika's.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she hissed, the kunai pressing just a bit harder, nearly drawing blood.

"I could ask you the same question. But I won't, considering it's most likely a personal thing. Leader wanted me to find some other possible shinobi to join the Akatsuki. I was told by Akira's brother to come here," he calmly explained.

"That black haired bitch? No way in hell is she joining. Not if I have any say. Tonight was my night, and she stole it," she growled, stopping short as she realized the mistake she had made.

"Hm, the cat's out of the bag, eh?"

"You have no idea how hard it is to make money for the organization. I had no choice. Me working here is the only thing keeping the Akatsuki alive," she fiercely replied, "If you have a problem with it than you can bet your ass I'll have you thrown out before you even knew what was happening."

He didn't doubt that. Kazumi trusted her probably more than anyone, and would certainly listen to her when she had something important to say.

"I have no problem and won't say a word to anyone," he promised, "But promise me one thing."

"And what the hell would that be?"

"Promise me you won't get hurt," he replied, and without waiting for an answer, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Damn it!" Shika smashed the tree with her fist, "Fucking bastard!" She had been training all day, smashing anything in her path. She hadn't bothered with her gloves and her knuckles were split open and bleeding profusely. She could tell her chakra was low, but it still didn't stop her from kicking the next three trees in her path.

It was all Hiroshi's fault. Fuck him. She hated him. She really did. If he had picked any other night to go downtown, things would've been fine. But he didn't. Bastard.

Using the last of her chakra, she smashed the ground beneath her, the bones in her hand making a sickening crunch. The kunoichi dropped to her knees, hands shaking. Covering her mouth with her hands, she tried to muffle her screams. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to be the unstable one. She was too strong, damn it!

Shika tried standing, but her limbs felt detached from her body. She fell to her knees once again, this time making no attempt to get back up. It was almost dusk anyway. Nobody would notice if she wasn't in her bed tonight.

Using the last of her strength, she curled up, falling asleep immediately.

The next day, Shika woke up to the few birds outside. She rolled onto her back, putting her hands behind her back to get ready to stand. She lifted her legs and pushing the rest of her weight to her hands, she snapped onto her feet.

Or... she tried to. The moment her hands had the majority of her weight she crumpled. Swearing under her breath, she looked at her hands, assessing the damage.

Her knuckles were split open and her fingers had a purple-ish tint to them. Both of her middle finger seemed to be broken, both were significantly more swollen than the rest of her fingers. She had a few broken knuckles and had fractured her right wrist.

As she began to heal herself, she felt a familiar chakra signature. Sora appeared at her side, already beginning to heal her broken hands.

"I'll be able to heal the breaks and I can fix your knuckles. But the bruises will have to just go down by themselves," she murmured, her gray hair covering tickling Shika's arm.

"I can heal myself," Shika growled, pulling away her hands. Sora grabbed them and began to heal her again.

"I don't think so, not only is your chakra dangerously low, but trying to heal yourself with a broken hand? Yeah right."

The purple haired ninja nodded, bracing herself as Sora set her fingers and knuckles back into place. Wincing slightly, she gave the medic-nin her left hand.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked quietly, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I noticed you weren't at dinner last night," Sora replied as she worked, "When you weren't in your bed this morning I decided to look for you. Leader has some important information to tell you that you missed. I wanted to make sure you were here for it."

Shika nodded and thanked her as she finished. The two walked back to the house in silence. Sora had always been good about not prying, making her a great person to talk to. Shika never did, but the fact that knowing she could had always been comforting.

Sora looked back at the woman behind her. Ever since Hiroshi had joined, she had seemed much more tense than normally. Her eyes seemed to have more hatred too. She had always been a very cold individual, but it was getting kind of excessive.

She wouldn't ask though. If Shika didn't want to say anything, she didn't have to. 'Whatever works' she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Shika flopped onto her bed. Kazumi had just told her everything she had missed the night before, most of which she had heard before. Running a bandaged hand through her violet hair, she thought about how her training session with Hiroshi would go the next day. Her hands were throbbing constantly from the day before and her chakra was still lower than it normally was.

Hiroshi had been improving everyday, though he still didn't have the same amount of skill as her. Kazumi had told her about a mission coming up that would really test his skills in combat. Not only that, but it would also test how they would be able to work together. Shika knew she would be fine, when it came to missions it was a totally different mind set. But she wasn't too sure about the blue-haired shinobi. She knew he didn't like her, but he would just have to suck it up for the assignment.

Smirking, Shika thought about what his reaction would be to her power. During their training sessions she would almost always hold back, never once ingesting any of his blood to activate her curse. She knew that on a mission it would be a necessity. He had never seen it in action so it would surely be a sight to see.

Stripping herself of her dirty and bloody clothes, she crawled into bed and fell into deep slumber.

"You two are to infiltrate the Village Hidden in the Clouds, Kumogakure, and successfully get these three scrolls," Kazumi said to Hiroshi and Shika while showing small pictures of the scrolls, "There's a special seal on them and once you bring them back here I'll be able to break the seal so they can be read."

"What is the necessity for the scrolls?" Hiroshi asked, not understanding the concept of the mission, "And what would happen if we opened them?"

"A rumor is going around that said scrolls contain top-secret information about Iwagakure and their possible possesion of extremely deadly weapons," Kazumi replied, "And if you open the scrolls before I break the seal, you die."

"We will leave tomorrow morning, Leader-san," Shika spoke for the first time, walking out of the dining room. Hiroshi followed suit while silently pondering Kazumi's words.

"Hiro-san," Shika's voice rang out.

"Hm?" he murmured, startled slightly by the nickname.

"Come, I need to tell you what to expect in the hours to come."

They walked to Shika's room, sitting cross-legged on the floor. The kunoichi took a deep breath, it was about time that he knew about this.

"Hiro-san, this mission is very dangerous. Kumogakure is normally very peaceful, but they have powerful and very skilled shinobi," Shika said, her black eyes burning into his, "From previous knowledge, the altitude of where we will be fighting will be much higher than you're used to. Breathing may become difficult and if you need help you have to tell me. We can't afford to have one of us falling out last-minute. I'll be bringing along some herbs, in case our breathing becomes extremely labored, but they're only for an emergency situation."

"What are we to do exactly?" Hiroshi interrupted, soaking up the information she was telling him.

"Get in, get the scrolls, and get out," she replied, "We have to be quick and quiet. From what I've heard the village is normally very quiet, which is why when you're performing a jutsu you have to be quiet about it."

"How?"

"Do you remember when I first fought you?" he nodded his head, "Do you remember how quiet and fast I was while making those hand seals? You have to be exactly the same. Stay quiet and make sure you do the hand signs as fast as you can, but make sure you're still doing them correctly."

"Okay, I can do that," Hiroshi replied, "So when we get there, where do we go first? And who are we looking for?"

"We'll head to where the Raikage's office is, and if we're lucky we'll be able to get in and get out fast," Shika said, fingering the cloth on her knuckles, "But since the chance of that happening is extremely slim, we'll kill whoever gets in our path."

Hiroshi nodded, fully understanding the purpose of the mission. His first mission as an Akatsuki. This would be interesting.

"How many are left?" Shika shouted, back to back with Hiroshi in the Raikage's office. Just as she had predicted, they had run into a group of shinobi. They had killed most of them or rendered them unconscious. None of her wounds seemed fatal, but Hiroshi was a different story. His arm seemed to be bent at an angle that was definitely not normal and his legs had deep gashes all over.

"Two," he replied before charging off.

Shika looked around for her enemy. There he was. Twice her size and with unbelievably strong chakra. She ran at him, scythe in tow. He dodged, but she had managed to clip his arm. That's all she needed. Dipping her foot in a pool of blood on the floor, she hastily made the Jashin symbol.

"I don't have time for games, little girl," the shinobi said, ready to strike.

Licking her scythe, she felt her body ripple and change as the curse overtook her. Shika watched in satisfaction as his smug expression changed to one of pure horror. Gathering chakra to her hand, she swung her blade with inhuman power, barley missing the ninja's head.

Wincing slightly, she felt the blades pierce her chest. Looking up at the man, she smirked when she saw him fall to his knees and scream. Waiting a few moments, she watched as more and more blood poured from his chest.

Hiroshi kicked and punched at the man in front of him. Every attack was blocked. 'My chakra's too low for me to do anything drastic,' he thought, ducking as the man threw a punch. Making a series of fast hand-seals, Hiroshi murmured the words that he knew would end this.

The shinobi in front of him, grabbed his own neck, trying to pry off whatever was strangling him. Hiroshi focused as hard as he could, trying to keep the jutsu going just long enough to kill the man. As he stopped struggling, he could tell that the man's air had closed off. He released the jutsu, and felt the man's pulse. He was dead. Grabbing a kunai, he stabbed the man through the heart, just in case he had made a mistake.

Staying alert he found Shika, fighting who as probably the largest man he had ever seen. She had removed the scythe from her chest and was slowly running it across her neck. The man grabbed his neck, more blood spilling out of his chest.

Shika grinned. She knew he would die. He had already lost far too much blood in from his chest alone, the wound on his neck would only add to that. Grabbing the scroll on the ground, she beckoned for Hiroshi to follow, walking out of the office.

The two were out of the village, walking through a forest in silence.

"Let me heal your wounds," Shika suddenly said, stopping as she got out some medical supplies.

"You shouldn't have to do that, you've used up enough chakra as it is," Hiroshi argued, stopping as she got things together. Wordlessly, she made him lie down while she checked his body. Shika's eyes widened a fraction as she healed his legs. Some of the cuts were so deep they went straight to the bone. Doing her best to clean the wound, she watched as her hands became stained with his blood. Grabbing her medical tape, she began tightly wrapping both legs to stop any more blood flow. Moving to his arm, she assessed the damage. It was broken.

"This might hurt a bit," she said, when he nodded she snapped his arm back to it's original place. Letting out a small yell of pain, Hiroshi bit his lip as the pain slowly subsided. Grabbing a splint out of her bag, Shika placed it on the proper place on his arm and began wrapping that with tape. As she healed his more minor cuts, she studied his face.

Dark blue, shoulder length hair that hung completely straight. His eyes were a light gray and he had a narrow nose. Under the blood and dirt that covered his face, she could make out defined cheekbones. Kazumi had told her that he was Orochimaru's son, she just didn't think that he would have such a resemblance.

Hiroshi reddened under her intense gaze. Her purple and gray hair was matted to her face, caked on by blood. She pursed her black lipstick covered mouth as she worked, her green chakra healing what injuries he had on his body. Only one of her eyes was visible, the other hidden by her thick hair and her black eyes were covered by black Kohl. He noticed the left side of her chest had a deep wound, and looked up, silently asking what had happened.

"I activate the curse," she said quietly. Hiroshi's eyes widened. She was the one with the strange markings all over her body? She really was just like Hidan.

"Okay, I'm done"

Shika's voice brought him out of his thoughts. She was already packing up her supplies, not bothering to heal herself. The shinobi noticed that her chakra was so low that it was barely detectable.

"Why did you use all of your chakra on me? Now we might not be able to make it back as quickly," he said without thinking. She looked up at him, her normally cold eyes filled with sorrow.

"I don't want to lose another teammate, especially one that I actually kind of like," she replied, her eyes filling with tears. Hiroshi was taken aback. He had no idea that she was so sad, no wonder she seemed so angry at him when he first joined the Akatsuki. Walking up behind her, he put his arm around her waist.

Shika stiffened under him, closing her eyes, willing the tears not to fall. He put his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent.

"You won't lose me, not ever."


End file.
